The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-12-03
TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL.
The Interstate Commission
Reports
THEIR LABORs FOR THE YEAR
Recommendations and Suggestions to
CoDgress-RefOrms Effected
Other News Notes.
rhe Commerce Commission.

w ASHlh6TOn, O6C6IuUoI - Ac htSS
annual reportSof the interstate COM
merce commission has been laid before
the Secretary of the Interior. After
dealing briefly upon the magnitude of
the interest which the act undertakes to
regulate, the commission devotes q
dozen pages to historic sketch Of the
country's transportation facilities, from
the pack-horse and canoe of the earliest
days, to the mammoth institu-
ton of the present year. tracing
back to their origin. All these uses and
abuses which finally led to the passage
of the interstate act. The commits
sion SAYS that some of the railroad
practices which the act undertakes to
bring to an end, have been common
among carriers by land and have also
been common among carriers ? by
water, and if wrong in themselves
might Justly be forbidden in their case
as well. The commission is of the
opinion that the express business is done
bv railroad companies themselves,
within the act. Whether the express
companies which are independent of
the railroads are within the contenpla-
ton of the act is more doubtful. In
regard to sleeping car companies, live
stock car companies, and oil companies,
which transport in tank cars, the COM
mission say they are as much subject
to temptation to discriminate as the
railroads are and the fact is laid before
Congress for such action as it may
choose to take. The long and short
haul clause is e1haustively discussed,
together with the reasons of the COM
mission for temporarily suspending the
provision In certain sections and they
say, in part: The considerations which
were influential in determining when
these temporary orders should be
granted, were not more for the relief OF
carriers from tbs danger of loss than
the prevention of threatened disturb
ance of business interests in certain
localities, which by its. reflex action
seemed liable to embarass the entire
country" The Commission takes
large sections of the country obedience
TO the general letter of the fourth sec
ton is without important exception.
Reviewing the railway operations during
the period which has elapsed since the
act took effect, the commission says that
while less has been done in the direc-
ton of bringing freight tariffs
into conformity with the general rule
prescribed by the fourth section than
some persons expected. There has,
nevertheless, been a gratifying advance
in that direction, and there is every
reason to believe that this will continue.
The commission, after quoting the
section which empowers it to inquire
into the business of all common car
riers," says This is an important
provision, and the commission will, no
doubt, have requent occasion to take
action under it. There is every reason
to believe that some OF the most
serious actions which were notorious
inthe railway service before the passage
of the act and were in the legislative
minds. as reasons tor its enactment,
have now almost ceased to exist. One
of these was the giving of special and
secret rebates. Complaints OF unjust
di elimination and giving undue prefer
ence by open rates. are still frequent,
and in existing tariffs there are many
rates which, as compared with others
made by some carriers, seem to be I'M
fair and oppressive" Being now com
PEELED to justify their rates when called
on, the commission finds 1t makes mana
gers more cautious, about doing injustice.
LQS SuDlCCb VA OO4h PAoAlSct 1AAS ANEOAS y
saws that in the majority OF cases.
when the complainant has been found
to be mistaken in facts, or, if wronged,
it has been through the carelessness or
mistake of an agent, which the carrier
readily corrected. The commission
urges the desirsbility of uniform
freight classification throughout the
country, but doubts the ability to
reach the matter by legislation, while
without it there is gradual approach
to uniformity effected by the railroads
themselves. >,
The pooling of freights and of rail-
road earnings, so far at the commission
has knowledge or information on the
subject. came to an end when the act
took effect, but as the pooling was only
one of several, the purposes had In view
in forming railroad associations, the
leading associations have not been
dissolved, but have been continued in
existence for other objects. Among
these objects are the making OF reguIa-
tons for uninterrupted and harmoni-
GUS railroad communication and
exchange of traffic within the
territory embraced by their work
ings. Some resolutions in addition to
those made by law are almost,
| il not altogether, Indispensable tnus
while the seventh section Of the act for
bids carriers and prevents shipments
from being continuous by the device
of changing their time schedules, car
rage in different cars, ETC., it Las no
undertaken to provide for the making
of such time schedules as would fur
nish continuous shipment, or to pre-
scribe rules for the loading and move
ment of cars for that purpose.
In the chapter upon reasonable
charges, the commission says: "Of TIT
duties devolved on the commission bJ
the act to regulate commerce. what Il
more perplexing and difficult than an!
other is that of passing upon the com
pl aints made of rates as being I'M
reasonable. The question of reason
apleness of rates involves SO many con
siderations, and is affected by so man,
circumst ances and conditions, that it i
quite impossible to deal with 1t o.
purely mathematical principles. !
stady of the act to regulat
commerce has satisfied the com
mission that it was intended in il
passage to preserve for the people benz